


Pretty Follies (Lovers cannot see)

by tigerlily575



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, and poorly done as well, be nice, lite smut, soooo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-04
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-02-11 16:35:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2075235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlily575/pseuds/tigerlily575
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was the point of having freewill if you didn’t get to decide your future?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> if you haven't read amusewithaview's write love on my skin, you should. And because I suck at doing internet things, I'm not sure how to link it. But yes, this was inspired by that, so if you haven't read that, go do that, cause it's awesome.
> 
> side note: this is unbeta'd so all mistakes, unlike the characters, are mine.

Unlike most people, Darcy Lewis never liked having a soulmark. She always felt like the choice of whom she decided to spend her life with had been taken away. She began wearing a covering over the words at such a young age, she forgot what the handwriting looked like. Her words were on her wrist, almost as if they were shackles tying her down to a person as if she was a prize to be claimed. Which was absolutely ridiculous since there was someone out there with her words branded on their skin. 

Most people gave her a funny look, when she showed a distaste in having a soulmark. A few told her it wasn’t a brand, or a way to take away her choice, but merely a method to help find your partner. Darcy always smiled at these people; then made gagging noises once they were out of earshot.  
What was the point of having freewill if you didn’t get to decide your future?  
Turns out she wasn’t alone in that train of thought, so if she just wanted a good time, without the fear of accidentally meeting her soulmate, well, there were bars where people met, and no one exchanged words. 

She was in such a place when she met the man that she would blame for bringing her world crashing down.  
***  
It was a dimly lit and smoky kind of pub. The careless sound of glasses being put down and pens scratching made the place feel like it was out of time. 

Darcy spotted a handsome man sitting at the bar. He was tall even sitting down, his build suggested that he was active, and his eyes danced when he smiled. Darcy knew that was the man she wanted to spend her night with. Words or not, she was going to get laid. 

She made her way over and sat in the empty stool next to him. Slowly he turned to face her. She half smiled at him, and he quirked an eyebrow. Darcy motioned at the bartender, who nodded and brought her usual drink over. The man was smirking at her now. He picked up the pen that was on the counter and scooted over the notepad. 

“So you come here often enough for the bartender to know your order? Color me intrigued.” He shifted the pad over to her.  
Darcy was smiling at that. “Well, what can I say, well,* write? I enjoy the simple things, also, I tip really well. That’s why Chester’s got my back.” Darcy pushed the pad back to the man. 

“Okay, serious question: Why aren’t you interested in meeting your soulmate?” 

“Well, I like to think that I have control over who I am supposed to spend my life with. I like to actually decide for myself who I let into my life… What about you? What brings you to this rare gem in a world full of soulmate matches?” 

“Would you believe that I came with a friend? And I find this bar to be a very interesting concept?” Darcy looked at him and raised her eyebrow. He smirked then continued writing. “And I really have no desire to commit just yet.” 

Darcy grabbed the pen. “You and I are going to become fast friends.”  
***  
They spent the rest of the night writing back and forth about the most ridiculous things. It finally came to head when Darcy made her decision. She stood up abruptly, causing the man slouch back, as if he thought he was being rejected. She then turned to face him, raised a suggestive eyebrow, and held out her hand. 

The man stared hard at her for what felt like an eternity before smiling wickedly back at her and placing his hand in hers. He tilted his head as if to say ‘lead the way.’

Darcy was glad her apartment was only a few blocks away; it made things much simpler for her. The tension was palpable and Darcy was starting to feel antsy. She praised whatever deity was listening in when they finally made it to her apartment. 

Once the door closed, Darcy kissed the man as if her life depended on it. Clothes were being thrown all over the floor of her apartment, hands were roaming over the more sensitive parts of bodies, and their bodies were being tangled together in ways that made it difficult to maneuver to the bed; difficult, not impossible. 

She sighed as he kissed and sucked his way down her neck to her collarbone, then slowly down her stomach. As his mouth gently caressed the apex of her thighs she gasped and moaned her contentment. She came hard when he added two fingers and sucked on her clit. 

When she came back from her orgasm, her hands went to his shoulders and made pulling motions to get him to come back up. A task he happily fulfilled. He gave her a searing kiss in which she could taste herself on his lips. Darcy shifted herself away from him so she could reach her nightstand and grab a condom that she tossed to the man. He made quick work of putting it on and then putting himself inside of her. 

For a little while she forgot her worries and let herself get carried away by the sensations. 

And then it was over. He carefully pulled out of her, then made his way to the bathroom. Darcy just lay there breathing deeply in the silence. She heard him cleaning himself up. She was honestly surprised when he came back to her room; she had expected him to leave. She was smiling at him as he crawled back into her bed and then pulled her to his chest. She looked up at him with questioning eyes, because this felt like something more than either of them were looking for. He just smiled softly at her, kissed her forehead, and began gently stroking her hair. 

Darcy drifted off into the best night of sleep she’d had in years.  
***  
Darcy woke up snuggled into the chest of the man from the night before, his arm draped comfortably around her midsection. She studied the contours of his face; he looked so relaxed and peaceful while he slept. She then carefully traced the outline of his jaw. Slowly she brought herself up and gently placed a ghost of a kiss on his lips. He opened his eyes at that and smiled against her lips. He opened them slightly as if he was about to speak, but Darcy shook her head and placed her lips firmly back on his. 

He pulled her up so she was on top of him, and ran his hands across her shoulders and then down her back. She hummed contentedly then nibbled on his bottom lip. 

A knock on her door brought them back to reality. She groaned and put her head on his shoulder before disentangling herself from his embrace. The man pouted, so Darcy grabbed one of the pillows that had fallen and tossed it at him as she stuck out her tongue. His bark of laughter followed her out of the room. 

She made a quick detour to the bathroom and grabbed her robe, made doubly sure it was secure before she opened her apartment door where she was greeted by the sight of her best friend. 

“You had sex.” Her friend was smirking at her as he leaned in her doorway.

“Good morning to you too.” Darcy’s voice was a whisper. 

“You had really good sex. You look very relaxed.” 

“The fuck are you doing here this early on a Saturday? Jesus you couldn’t have sent me a text?” Her best friend looked so fucking smug that Darcy wanted to slap the look off of his face. “Just fucking spill it already asshat.” 

“I met my soulmate last night.” 

“Wait… not near here, I’ll text you in ten.”  
***  
Darcy went back inside and made her way to the bedroom, where she found the man searching the room for his pants. He was bending over and thus giving Darcy a fantastic view of his ass. She gave that ass an appreciative pinch. He turned to face her and opened his mouth, but Darcy put her index finger over his lips and shook her head. She leaned around him to reach over to the nightstand where she kept a notepad and pens. 

“I have to go. Best Friend emergency.” The man raised a skeptical eyebrow at that; Darcy just rolled her eyes and continued writing. “Trust me, I would much rather be in bed with you, and do an encore of last nights spectacular sex, but he needs me because the universe is awful with timing.”  
The man chuckled at that and smiled at her. Darcy reached up and ran her fingers across his jaw line. His gaze flicked to her lips and she could feel her heart rate increase significantly. She shook her head and leaned over the pad again. “I really do have to go.” 

The man plucked the pen from her fingers and began to scribble on the pad of paper. “I get it, but I would like you to know that I had a really great time. Hopefully I get to see you again.” 

“I’d like that.” 

Five minutes later the man was walking out the door after thoroughly kissing her goodbye. She grabbed her phone and texted her friend to come back up.  
***  
“Okay, so soulmate? What the hell? How? When? What are they like? Is it a man or a woman? WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME IMMEDIATELY?” Darcy was pacing around her kitchen while her best friend sat on the counter top watching her. “Also, why are you so calm? Why aren’t you freaking out?” 

He was laughing now. “One, I think you’re freaking out enough for the both of us, so just take a chill pill and I’ll tell you the story. But you need to calm way down first.” 

Darcy glared but complied. She sat down on one of her bar stools and motioned for him to being. He gave her a surly look. “Seriously Clint, I’m going to explode if you don’t tell me.” 

“Okay let me just say, it really only happened because you decided to go to your stupid no speak bar. So I blame you for this huge party foul on my social life.” 

“Fuck you, tell me what happened.” 

“Like I said, you had decided to go to your dumb no speak bar, and I thought it would be wise to go meet you and tell you that I found out that there was going to be a show of our most favorite band that night.” 

“WHAT?!?!” 

“Yeah, well I didn’t go either. I got distracted. Because I was about three blocks away when I ran into someone and we toppled over.” Clint’s eyes were glazing over with the sort of fondness Darcy had only seen when he was talking about his puppy or little sister. “It was a woman, and she is beautiful, anyway she looked into my eyes and I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.” 

“Oh god, you made a cheesy joke, didn’t you?” Darcy groaned when she saw Clint nod in confirmation. “Okay, what was it?” 

“I see you’ve fallen for me.” 

“No. Oh Clint, that’s horrible. That’s actually the worst pick up line ever.”

“Tell me about it. So I say that, her eyes get as wide as saucers, and then she started to laugh, I was about to say something else when she looked back up and smiled and said them. The words. ‘Suddenly everything makes so much sense.’ She started laughing at the look on my face. We spent the night at a coffee shop talking. She’s really nice. I actually think you’ll really like her.”

Darcy smiled tightly. It wasn’t his fault, but she felt betrayed by him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say sorry this took longer than I expected, and while I wish I could say I will be posting at a regular and frequent interval, that's not a reality. Unfortunately. 
> 
> since it's my birthday here's the next bit. 
> 
> (once again, this is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. the characters however are not)

When Darcy was little she was led to believe that meeting your soulmate was end all-be all, because that’s what the fairytales said. She looked forward to the day she would meet the person whose writing she carried. Her fantasy of a happily ever after crashed down when she was seven and realized that all was not what it seemed. 

Her parents, soulmates, fought all the time. Subtle jabs about the other’s competence, biting remarks about long held resentments, public humiliation any time there was a party or gathering, and of course, big blow out brawls that always resulted in doors slamming, screaming, tears, broken china, and cops being called. A week before her eighth birthday, Darcy’s parents had a particularly nasty fight that resulted in her father walking out, slamming the door so hard behind him that the house shook. Darcy found her mother sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by broken dishes, sipping amber liquid from a large glass. Darcy stood in the entryway for a moment then just blurted out that she didn’t understand why they fought all the time if they were soulmates. 

Darcy’s mother looked at her with sad, tired eyes. “Baby, life isn’t like your fairytales, it’s more complicated than that.” 

“But if you aren’t happy, why are you still together?” 

“Because who else would I be with? Your father is my soulmate, how could I find someone better if he’s what I’m meant for?” 

The next day Darcy went to school with a bandana around her wrist. She decided that just because someone said some words didn’t mean she owed them anything. Darcy was a pretty ballsy almost eight year-old. 

Darcy made a point to never do anything wrong or bad growing up; she didn’t want to add on the things her parents fought about. She was an excellent student, never broke curfew, was in multiple clubs, volunteered almost every weekend, and generally was a good kid. So of course the first time Darcy does anything remotely rebellious it all goes to hell. 

Just this once, Darcy wanted to feel like a normal fifteen year old and go to one of Allison Mill’s epic bashes in the woods. Darcy had been there just long enough for someone to hand her a red cup when red and blue lights flashed paired with the wailing of a siren. 

Everyone around her started running in every direction, and Darcy just stood in place like a deer in the headlights. That is until someone grabbed her hand and took off in a sprint, dragging Darcy along. 

They had been running for about three minutes when the boy holding her hand suddenly stopped, causing Darcy to slam into him. The boy snickered, but before she could call him an ass, he darted behind a tree and pulled her with him. 

He somehow managed to position their bodies so he was pressing against the tree and his hand was covering her mouth. Under any other circumstances Darcy would have been freaking out and punching him repeatedly, then spraying him with pepper spray until he was horse, but the boy was looking past the tree and was intensely still as he watched the night. After a window of time Darcy was unsure of, she felt the sudden urge to bite the hand over her mouth and tell the guy to fuck off, when she heard foot steps. The boy looked down at Darcy, and she gave a small nod to tell him she understood the urgency in his gaze to stay quiet. 

“Give it up Hill, they’re gone,” a somewhat amused male voice called out. 

“Damn it!” A disgruntled female voice came from the other side of tree, much closer than anticipated, making Darcy’s heart race much faster then before. “We had them.” 

“And now we don’t, let’s just go back and see if anyone was stupid enough to stay.”

The female cop gave her grudging ascent to follow the male cop’s idea. 

Darcy and the boy waited several long minutes, before he deemed it safe enough to lower his hand from her mouth and took a step back. “I appreciate you not biting me.” 

And just like that Darcy knew she was going to be friends with this boy. She shrugged, “Least I could do, you know since you saved me ass.” 

The boy was grinning now. “Clint.” 

“Darcy.” 

“Well Darcy, want to go get some waffles?”

Darcy raised an eyebrow. “You are most peculiar,” she grinned at him. “Take me to waffles.” 

Clint was the first person to get why Darcy had such an aversion to the whole soulmate shebang.  
“Makes perfect sense actually,” Clint spoke through a mouthful of waffle, “Why would you build a life with someone based on a few words right away instead of someone you’ve known and built a foundation of trust and friendship with?” 

Darcy smiled at him and stole a piece of bacon from his plate. Now she knew for sure that she and Clint were going to be the very best of friends. 

***  
Snap back to Reality. 

Darcy was feeling less than fuzzy as Clint described his soulmate. It wasn’t that Darcy wasn’t happy for Clint; she was. It was just that, well, she wasn’t happy. She got that Clint had always wanted to meet his soulmate, and she got that this should have been a happy time for him, but Darcy was pissed. Darcy was pissed that she was now going to come in second to some girl he just met. 

“Darcy? Are you even listening to me?” 

“No?” 

Clint observed her through narrowed eyes. “What?” 

“What?” 

“Don’t pull that shit. I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re irrationally pissed.” 

Darcy was chewing on the inside of her cheek weighing her options. Either way there was going to be a fight, so she figured she might as well tell him the truth. “ It’s been what, five hours? And you’re already talking as if you know you’re going to just make sure you and your soulmate, a person YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW, have a fucking fairytale life.” 

Clint just blinked at her before retorting in an irritatingly calm voice, “I get why you’re being a dick about this, but Darce, she’s my soulmate. And I know you know how much this means to me. And I know you’re gonna hate this, but things just clicked when we were talking, and it just felt right,” Clint glanced up and caught the face Darcy made. “Yeah, I get this goes against everything we’ve talked about, but I have to get to know her. I have to give this a shot.” 

“Whatever.” 

“You can be such a fucking brat when you want to.” He got up and made his way to the door. “Call me when you’re done being an asshole.” 

Darcy rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue as he left her apartment.  
***  
She spent the day angry cleaning. While it was great for her living space, it did little to quell the rage Darcy felt. It wasn’t that Darcy was in love with Clint, she wasn’t; but Clint was the most important person in Darcy’s life and she couldn’t deal with him moving on to a different stage without her.  
And on that thought Darcy got angry at the woman who said the words on Clint all over again and proceeded to smash several plates.  
What Darcy needed was a distraction. A hot, sweaty, distraction. 

***  
She took her time getting ready. The routine of putting on her makeup was almost therapeutic. She admired her handiwork when she finished. Her lips were a dark rose, her skin was a creamy delight, and her blue eyes were framed by the bold wings of her eyeliner. She let her hair fall down her back like an unruly waterfall. 

She gazed at her reflection, but the woman looking back wasn’t Darcy. It was someone who didn’t just have a massive fight with her best friend; it was someone who didn’t have a care in the world. It was a perfect disguise. 

***  
Darcy’s eyes were closed as she danced. The music was thumping so intensely, she could feel it in her bones. Her body moved of it’s on accord as she lost herself in the beat. She could have been dancing for minutes or hours when a hand tapping her shoulder brought her back to reality. Darcy turned her head, and after successfully going temporarily blind because of the flashing lights, she was finally able to make out the familiar face. 

The man from the night before gave her a quizzical look right before she pulled him flush against her and began moving to the beat once more. The man caught on quickly and moved his hands to her hips while hers wrapped around his neck. Darcy lost track of all time as they danced. It wasn’t until the hands went from her hips to cradling her face did she even realize they had stopped. It wasn’t until he wiped her cheek with his thumb did she realize that she had been crying. The man gently removed his hands from her face and found hers. He kept their fingers tangled together as he guided them out of the club. 

It took them a surprisingly short amount of time to navigate their way out of the congested club. 

Darcy didn’t know whether she wanted to fuck this man senseless or just let him hold her until her tears ran out. The man gave Darcy’s hand a gentle squeeze and they once again found themselves walking back to her apartment. 

She had made up her mind that she was going screw this man until they were both too spent to even move, and she would have followed through with her plan except that after she had closed the door and looked up at him, he had such a tender expression on his face she started crying again. Not just any crying either, Darcy was full on ugly crying at this man that she had collectively known for just a handful of hours. 

The man (who’s name she would learn eventually, cause this was getting ridiculous) led her to the bathroom. He sat her down on the lip of her tub and motioned for her to stay. He then began to fiddle with the taps on her faucet until he got the temperature just right. When the water was deemed acceptable, he grabbed the washcloth sitting on the counter and placed it under the stream. He turned back to face Darcy, then kneeled down in front of her, washcloth in hand, and carefully began to remove her eye makeup. 

Once her makeup was gone, or as gone as it could get with just a damp washcloth, the man tossed the washcloth into the sink, then stood up. He offered a hand to Darcy. She allowed him to lead her into her bedroom. He stopped short of the bed as if unsure of what his next move was supposed to be. Darcy saw this as her opportunity to take the reigns. In this case it meant pushing past him and throwing herself onto her bed. While she was lying in such a way in that she could not see the man, when she made a grabby motion at him, he complied and lay on the bed so that his chest was to her back. And then, cradled in the arms of a man who was practically a stranger, Darcy found herself with more feelings then she was comfortable with. She wanted to tell him to leave, to never come back, but she couldn’t, not when he made her feel so secure and cared for. Darcy found herself focusing on the gentle thrumming of his heart against her back, and drifted off into a pleasant sleep.  
***  
It was her phone that woke her up. Who even called on landlines anymore? Why the fuck did she have a landline anyway? Jesus, what was this? The 90s? And why was the phone not close? Who thought it was a good idea to put the fucker in the kitchen (Darcy. It was Darcy)? 

The internal monologue cursing the phone and all it’s subsequent annoyances prevented Darcy from fully realizing how early it was, and that if someone calls you at three am, the news is hardly ever savory. 

“Hello?” Her voice was gravely and full of righteous indignation. 

“Uh Hello. Is this Ms. Lewis?” 

“Yes, may I ask who’s calling me at this obscene hour?” 

“This is Rachel Atkins from Mercy General. You are listed as an emergency contact for a Clinton Barton.” 

And like that Darcy felt the air leave her lungs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH, thank you for bookmarking/leaving kudos/ and all that jazz. I cannot express how happy that makes me. 
> 
> Total side note: The title of this is unashamedly taken from a line in the Merchant of Venice.
> 
> anyway feel free to leave comments and whatnot, and again, thank you for reading and then dealing with my extremely awkward ramblings. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy was in shock. This was not supposed to happen. She and Clint were supposed to take a few days to bitch about the other. Darcy was supposed to show up at Clint’s apartment with an olive branch (read: waffles) and apologize for being a brat. Clint in return would say that he was being an insensitive asshole by how he delivered the soulmate news, and would graciously accept her olive branch. 
> 
> This phones call from the hospital? Not in the plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, apparently I am actually the worst because I totally had planned to post this like a week ago, but then I decided I didn't like what I had so I rewrote it. Like 6 times. But look! it's here!  
> So trigger stuff: there's some slight panic attack action, some (spoiler) describing of someone being hit by a car, and that's all I can think of right now. IF there is anything more please tell me and I will add it.

III.

Darcy was in shock. This was not supposed to happen. She and Clint were supposed to take a few days to bitch about the other. Darcy was supposed to show up at Clint’s apartment with an olive branch (read: waffles) and apologize for being a brat. Clint in return would say that he was being an insensitive asshole by how he delivered the soulmate news, and would graciously accept her olive branch. 

This phones call from the hospital? Not in the plan. 

Darcy felt like she was underwater. Everything looked distorted, sounded distorted, she couldn’t seem to get air into her lungs. 

The phone, where did she put the phone? On the floor, in front of her (when did she end up on the floor?). She picked up the phone only to discover that the woman on the other end was still talking (not that Darcy listened. The voice was reminiscent of Charlie Brown’s teacher). After muttering what she thought was a quick apology and confirmation that she knew where to go, Darcy hung up the phone. 

She was halfway down stairs to her building when she realized she needed her wallet, and keys, and phone, and shoes. She needed to take a minute to regroup. 

Once back in the apartment it took her three minutes for her to gather everything she needed. Almost out the door, and she remembered the man in her bed. Cue internal groan. This was not something she wanted to deal with, but ugh, she had to be an adult about something. Before opening the door, she thought that it had been strange that the man hadn’t come out, since she wasn't exactly being quiet. When she caught sight of her bed it became glaringly obvious why he hadn’t come out. He had already left. 

Darcy turned on her heel and was out of her complex and hailing a cab in record time. Under different circumstances, Darcy would have been really pissed about being abandoned by someone who had seen her at her most vulnerable; under different circumstances Clint wouldn’t be in the hospital.  
***

Once at the hospital Darcy made a mental note to thank the woman who helped her find the hall Clint was located in. And then she wa standing in front of the door. 

She stared at it, this unassuming door. And Darcy couldn’t fucking move. She closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, counted to five, opened her eyes, and pushed the door open. 

He looked very small just laying there. Darcy’s feet moved of their own accord and she was right next to him. “You idiot. You aren’t supposed to be here.” The tears started up again, Jesus, where the fuck were they coming from? “ I’m so sorry. I was the worst.” She paused and looked at him through teary eyes. “This is where you’re supposed to say you’re sorry for being an insufferable asshole. Okay?” Darcy squeezed his hand but got nothing back. 

***  
She had fallen asleep in the chair next to Clint’s bed. She had not remembered falling asleep but she sure as shit remembered waking up to the door slamming shut. Darcy jolted up and was on high alert looking around the room frantically only to come to the conclusion that a nurse must have just left the room. 

Darcy rubbed the back of her neck and winced. “Well this fucking blows,” she mumbled under her breath. 

“You’re telling me.” The sultry voice scared the shit out of Darcy. Once again she darted her eyes around the room and they finally landed on an extremely beautiful, albet smirking, redhead. 

Darcy gaped for about thirty seconds, giving her time to restart her heart, before she found her voice. “Hi, you must be the soulmate I heard all about.”

“You can call me Natasha for short.” The redhead, Natasha, tilted her head and just watched Darcy. 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t meet at an awkward brunch like normal people. I’m Darcy by the way.” 

Natasha’s lip twitched as if she was going to smile. “I figured." She paused and made a small nod of what Darcy hoped was approval. "We could always get coffee right now and then stare intensely at each other until you ask me about my intentions.” Natasha raised an eyebrow. Darcy knew in this moment that she and Natasha would become very good friends. 

“Coffee actually sounds perfect right now, it’s just that,” Darcy’s gaze moved back over to Clint, “I don’t want to leave him alone.” Still watching her best friend, she didn’t see Natasha’s eyes soften. 

“How about this: you get twenty or so more minutes of sleep while I go and get coffee that doesn’t resemble the bottom of the the sewer system?” 

Darcy looked very at Natasha with a most serious expression. “I think you and I are going to become fast friends.” 

Natasha let a laugh out as she left the room. Darcy turned her focus back on Clint. “I’ve only known her for approximately five minutes, you were right, she’s the best. So don’t fuck it up by not waking up.” 

***  
This time Darcy woke up to the smell of fantastically brewed coffee. She opened her eyes to find an amused looking Natasha holding out a very large cup which held the caffeinated goodness. 

“I think I’m in love with you.” Darcy made what some would call a lewd noise after she took her first sip. 

“I had no idea it would be this simple to get into your good graces.” 

Darcy looked up at the smirking redhead. “Tell no one.” 

Natasha mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key as Darcy took another much needed sip of the brown nectar that brought joy and caffeine. 

“Sweet baby Jesus, this is excellent coffee.” 

Natasha just quirked her eyebrows and sat next to Darcy. They were quiet for several minutes just sitting and sipping their coffee until Darcy felt the question that had been nagging away in the back of her mind tumble from her lips. 

“What happened?” Her voice sounded small, even to her. 

“We were walking, and he was telling me about the fight you guys had, he was telling me that you thought soulmates were stupid and that it was ridiculous that he was putting so much stock in something because of a few words on the inside of his arm,” Darcy shifted uncomfortably at that and made sure to avoid Natasha’s knowing eyes. Natasha just continued. “He was ranting about some point, when he caught sight of a dog…”

“Stray?” Darcy was looking a spot on the floor, still avoiding looking Natasha in the eye. 

“Yes.” Natasha paused, waiting as if Darcy was going to interrupt again, but Darcy just nodded as if the stray dog explained everything. “He noticed the dog, which was huddled away from the street in some dank alley, and then he very calmly and gently made his way over and coaxed the dog to come out. Only a cab backfired, the dog got spooked and bolted into the street. Clint ran after it. He got the dog out of the street but then a cab took a turn too fast and Clint didn’t get out of the way in time.” 

Darcy just kept staring at the patch of linoleum in front of her. “Where’s the dog now?” 

“A friend of mine is taking care of him at my apartment for right now.” 

Darcy was picking at her now empty cup. “Just so you know, Clint is going to want ownership. He kind of has a thing for the furry babies.” 

Natasha let out a small laugh. “Not that surprising considering he ran after it.”

“Don’t take the soulmate Clint told you I said to heart.” 

Natasha put a hand over Darcy’s fidgeting fingers. Darcy finally met her gaze. “Everyone has a past and it is not always pleasant. I’m sure you have your reasons for your distaste, and from what I heard of your stance on the whole soulmate system, they are valid reasons.” 

Darcy was spared from responding because a moment later the doctor made his way in the room. 

***  
Clint had three broken ribs and his left shoulder. He had no internal bleeding or brain swelling. Darcy thought she was going to faint when she saw all the bruising running down his body. 

“So when will he wake up?” Darcy’s voice, while much calmer than she felt, still shook with her anxiety. 

“In the next few hours hopefully.” The doctor looked up from Clint’s chart, gave Darcy a once over and scowled. making Darcy extremely aware of the fact that she was still in the dress from the club, her hair was probably wild and unkempt, and her makeup (or what was left of it) was smeared down her face. Natasha gave the doctor a stoney, and bone chilling glare. The doctor blanched at the look on the redhead’s face and quickly left the room. 

“I really left in a hurry last night. And clearly did not think about anything.” Darcy closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

“I can make a call. Get you something to change into?” 

“It’s not the end of the world.” 

“It’s also no problem.” Natasha put her hand on Darcy’s shoulder, and Darcy opened her eyes. “Let me call my friend watching the dog. He’s at my apartment, he can just drop off a few things and you can feel more comfortable.” 

“Thank you.” Once again, tears threatened to spill over. Natasha gave her shoulder a gentle reassuring squeeze before getting up and leaving the room to make the call. 

Darcy turned to face Clint. “Seriously dude, if you don’t wake up soon I’m going to date Natasha.”  
Clint groaned. 

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT CAN YOU HEAR ME????”

“Everyone on the eastern seaboard can hear you,” Clint croaked out. 

“Don’t be an ass. Fuck, I need to call a doctor, or a nurse, or something.” Darcy frantically searched for the call button. Once found she pressed it, and looked back at Clint. “OH, let me get you some water.” 

Clint watched with amusement as Darcy attempted to be a normal human being. He accepted the water she handed him and took a long drink. 

“Better?” Her voice was anxious again.

“Much.” 

“I’m so sorry I was horrible.” 

“Well, I was kind of a dick.” 

“But I should have been supportive and not let you leave and I should have just been your friend instead of just being the worst to you about the whole thing.” Darcy said all of this in a rush as if afraid she wouldn’t get the words out otherwise. 

“Are you finished?” 

“Yes.” 

“Okay then.” Clint was about to add more but the door swung open and Natasha walked back in followed by a different doctor than before. Clint grinned, or at least Darcy thought he was grinning (his face wasn’t exactly in the best shape), when he caught sight of Natasha. “You know, I woke up in time to hear Lewis here say she’d date you if I was to stay comatose for much longer.” 

Natasha’s eyes moved from Clint to Darcy. She simply shrugged. “I would not have been opposed to this plan. She has already declared her love for me, and if we spent the night at the others we would not have to worry about packing an overnight bag. All in all, it would be a most practical relationship.” 

Clint’s jaw dropped, Darcy started giggling, Natasha just raised a knowing eyebrow, and the Doctor just shuffled awkwardly before coughing to get their attention. “Now that you children are done, can I get to running some preliminary tests on Mr. Barton?”  
The two women nodded. Natasha grabbed Darcy’s arm and began to steer her towards the door. “We’ll just wait outside.”  
***  
“The change of clothes should be here in about twenty-five minutes.”

“Seriously Nat, you are a lifesaver. Oh, god, can I call you Nat? I am so sorry, that was so presumptuous of me.” Darcy bit her lip so could stop the word vomit. 

Natasha just took a moment before deciding, “Nat is fine.” 

Fifteen minutes later the doctor opened the door. “You ladies may come back now.” He smiled at them as they went back into the room. “I’ll be back in a few hours to see if you’re ready to be fit for casting.”

Clint just grimaced at the doctor’s retreating back. Then turned to look at Natasha and Darcy. He frowned. “Darcy. Don’t even think about it.” 

“About what?” Her eyes moved away from the spot that the doctor’s, very fine, butt had just been gracing. Her expression was too innocent to be believed.

Clint’s eyes narrowed. “No. You are not allowed to start hitting on my doctors. I would actually like to leave this place relatively soon.” He looked to Natasha, “back me up?” 

Nat just surveyed the room. “It’s not so bad in here. And I do know where to get the best coffee.” 

Clint looked horrified. “You two should not have met. This is so bad for me.” 

Natasha just patted his leg. 

Darcy was distracted by watching the pair she didn’t notice when the door opened behind her. and a man entered the room. Natasha did though. The redhead grinned. “James.”  
Darcy turned to look at the man as Nat began introductions. “James, this is…” 

“Its you.” His voice was deep and smooth and sounded surprised( and maybe a little guilty). Darcy felt her stomach drop as her eyes grew wide at his statement. 

She opened and closed her mouth several times before she was able to say anything. 

“Well, this is unexpected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always thank you so much for reading this. Please leave comments, questions, reviews, kudos, whateves. It does make all the difference.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And they just stood there like that, staring at one another for what felt like an eternity. Darcy was pretty sure being lit on fire would be less painful at this point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey everybody, look a new chapter. As always it's super unbeta'd. I'm also not sure how good it is, but it's a filler. An angsty filler.

IV.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Darcy did not sign up for this. She was not prepared to meet her soulmate. She was not okay with this development. She needed to get out of the room. Unfortunately, her soulmate, James, was standing in the doorway gaping at her. And they just stood there like that, staring at one another for what felt like an eternity. Darcy was pretty sure being lit on fire would be less painful at this point. It was Clint that broke the tension, because of course it was. 

“Hey Darce, isn’t that what….” 

“I swear to god if you finish that sentence I will cut out your tongue and then Natasha will be mad at me for rendering you incapable of doing things, and then she won’t be friends with me, which will make me mad at you all over again and probably end in me killing you slowly and painfully.” Darcy turned to look at Clint, who was wearing a shit eating grin. The fucker. Natasha’s gaze was fixed on the man in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow at him, but she kept her words to herself. 

Darcy had the sudden feeling like the room was closing in. Without any grace she pushed past the man, James she reminded herself, and promptly bolted out the door and down the hall. Waiting for the elevator was a test on her patience. A century (but what was actually more like 45 seconds) later the doors slid open and Darcy all but threw herself inside. She heard someone call her name, so like the mature adult she was, she hit the close door button repeatedly until the doors slid closed once again. She finally let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Her heart was still beating erratically but she was sure that it would not slow down anytime soon. 

***  
Darcy did not feel calm until she shut the door to her apartment. This was not a situation she was equipped to deal with. She ripped at the cloth covering her wrist and stared down at the words scribbled across it. Two words. Two fucking words. 

Its you. 

She always thought that she would be the one to speak first and that they would say that back to her. She was quite taken aback at the fact that he spoke first. Actually she was taken aback by the fact that it was the same guy she had let into her bed two nights in a row. That was definitely a curve ball. Her life had now hit a level of complicated that she was not ready to even began to handle. Oh sure, she’s deal with it eventually, but for right now she was going to draw herself a nice hot bath and let her troubles soak away. 

She slipped into the hot water and stayed in until she was as pruney as her Great-Aunt Ethel. she inspected her hands, possibly more so.   
Eventually she left the safety of her tub. She shrugged on her robe and padded out of the bathroom, fully intent on going into the kitchen and pouring herself the largest glass of wine. She walked past her living room, then doubled back. She looked at her couch, sighed, then made her way over to sit next to the redhead. 

“Should I be worried that you broke in?” 

Natasha smiled and reached by her foot. She then placed a bottle of what appeared to be very Russian vodka on the coffee table. 

“Well, as long as you brought a present.” 

“Go get some glasses.” 

Darcy got up and made her way into the kitchen and then returned into the living room with two mismatched glasses. Natasha poured both of them a healthy measure. 

“Nostrovia.” Darcy raised her glass and Natasha’s lip twitched but she clinked her glass against Darcy’s. 

They drank the first glass in silence. Natasha refilled their glasses. That’s when Darcy’s brow furrowed. 

“Are you trying to get me drunk” 

“Yes.” 

Darcy smiled. She liked Natasha’s blunt approach. “Oh. Any particular reason?” 

“You’ll speak more freely with a loosened tongue.” 

“Are you secretly a fortune cookie?”

“Matryoshka doll.” 

“That’s logical.” 

Natasha scooted Darcy glass back over. “Just drink.” 

It took fifteen minutes before the alcohol took effect and Natasha started asking questions. 

“Why did you run?” Natasha had one leg tucked underneath her now, and was watching Darcy. 

Darcy rolled her eyes. “You know why I ran.” 

“Humor me.” 

Darcy pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest. “I ran because I panicked.” 

“Why did you panic?” 

That’s when Darcy explained about the whole meeting James at a bar, taking him home, and having epic mind blowing sex with him. Then she explained about the fight with Clint, wincing when slightly as she recalled the less than savory things she’d said to Clint. She explained how she had decided to go out that night to just blow off some steam. How She ended up seeing James there. How they danced, how James somehow knew something was wrong. She described the gentle way he took care of her when they got back to her apartment, the tender way he took off her makeup then held her until she fell asleep. 

“Next thing I know I’m being woken up by my phone ringing and an empty bed. And then you know this part, I rushed to the hospital, we met, Clint woke up, and then James showed up. I freaked out, and ran away. And now here we are.” Darcy wasn’t meeting Natasha’s gaze, but she knew the redhead looked unimpressed. 

“Why did you run?”

Darcy just rubbed her wrist, but did not answer. 

“Why did you run?” 

“You know why I ran.”

“I have a theory, yes.” She waited for Darcy to speak, but Darcy just continued staring at her floor. “Just tell me.”

Darcy shoved her wrist at Natasha. “This. This is why I ran.”

Natasha ran a delicate finger over the words. She made a slight humming noise as she traced the words. “You should really talk to James,” Natasha looked up at the strangled noise Darcy made. “You know you’re going to have to eventually.” 

Darcy narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always comments, reviews, kudos are always appreciated.


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha squeezed Darcy’s wrist gently as there was another knock on her apartment door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, sooooo sorry I suck. I had a very, very bad bought of writers block. And then it was gone, and I had a bunch written, but then I didn't have a chance to type it up because some family stuff came up and it's hard to type stuff up when you're chilling in a hospital room at three am. (everyone's fine, but now I am living with a cat from hell. so there's that) 
> 
> Anyway, it's not super long, there's going to be more because I HAVE MORE WRITTEN. sorry for the diatribe. It's been kinda ridiculous in my world for the past few weeks. 
> 
> As always unbeta'd. Characters do not belong to me, unlike any grammatical or spelling errors.

V.

Natasha squeezed Darcy’s wrist gently as there was another knock on her apartment door. 

“Nat.” 

But Natasha had already gotten off the couch and made her over to the door to answer it. Somewhere in Darcy’s brain there was a thought that it was weird that a woman who was a virtual stranger was answering her door, on the other hand Natasha answering the door was was less weird than her breaking in. Darcy accepted that the answering of the door was a sign of friendship and decided that any further questioning was unnecessary. 

While Darcy was lost in thought, Natasha had opened the door and strategically placed herself so that Darcy could not see who was on the other side (though given the circumstances she had a fairly good guess as to who it could be). 

Darcy was left with two options: one: be an adult and invite the stranger (again she had a good guess) in. Proceed to have a mature conversation about what their relationship meant and how they did not have to jump into something serious and romantic just because that was expected of them. They could hopefully become friends, which would make their lives run more smoothly seeing as their best friends were soulmates and therefore it was likely the four of them would be spending time together. 

or two: Sit and hide in her apartment until she ran out of food and alcohol. 

So far, option two seemed like a real winner. That is until a distinct puppy like noise and a few what Darcy presumed was Russian curses came from the unseen side of the door. 

With a sigh Darcy got up and walked over to stand next to Natasha. She was greeted with the sight of James holding a very wriggly puppy. 

“Nat asked me to bring him over?” James’s looked like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Darcy had to work overtime to keep from grinning like a maniac. She stepped to the side and made the universal sweeping gesture that made it clear James could indeed come inside. 

Natasha watched carefully. “I’m going to go back to the hospital and make sure Clint hasn’t tried to escape through the air-ducts and therefore breaking more things in his body.” 

Darcy stopped staring at James to look at Natasha. “It’s like you’ve known him for years.” 

Natasha’s lips quirked up slightly at the sides. “I will come back during the week.” Natasha’s hand was once again closed around Darcy’s wrist. Her startling green eyes staring into Darcy’s blue ones. “Take care of the puppy for me.” 

Darcy nodded and Natasha took her leave. 

And then it was just Darcy and James. And they just stood in the entryway, staring at each other. 

“You can put him down you know.” 

James looked confused until Darcy motioned to the dog. “Oh, right. I just didn’t know if he should run free or not since it is becoming increasingly clear that he is extremely untrained.” James looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but in Darcy’s apartment. He put the puppy down. “I should go.” 

Darcy rolled her eyes and made her way over to her kitchenette. “Vodka okay with you?” 

“What??” 

“We are about the embark on a very adult conversation. I think it’s appropriate to have an adult beverage. So I ask again: is vodka okay with you?” 

****

They sat on her couch for ten minutes playing with their drinks in a tense silence. 

James broke first. “I’m sorry about the other night.” His voice was low and he was looking at a spot on the floor in front and a little to the left. “It was a dick move to leave without a note or waking you up.” 

“It was.” 

He looked up and met her steely gaze. “It just… it got really intense and I panicked.” 

Darcy was quiet as she digested his words. Slowly she began to nod her head. “I understand being panicked. But I’m still pissed.” 

“I just feel like I need to make some serious amends and do some intense groveling because you and I are,” he made a vague gesture between the two of them, “you know?”. 

“That doesn’t have to change anything. We don’t have to make this any more than what it was. We can put it behind us and be friends,” a sudden crash cut off the rest of Darcy’s carefully crafted argument and interrupted her train of thought. “The fuck? OH GOD PUPPY!” 

Darcy was up like a rocket and on the way to find the origin of the noise. 

The puppy had somehow managed to pull her shower curtain down and was now tangled in the curtains. Darcy freed the pup and was rewarded with a face full of puppy kisses. 

“Aren’t you a charmer.” She was laughing as the puppy made an attempt to eat her nose. “Okay, let’s go back to the man. Sound good?” She took the little bark as an affirmative. 

Darcy scooped up the mutt and walked back to her living room. She plopped down on her couch with a lap full of a now snuggly puppy. 

“I’m going to take it that everything is okay?” 

“Nothing I can’t fix.” The pause was filled with more uncertainty than either were comfortable with. “I meant what I said, we don’t have to make this some epic romance. We don’t have to be anything, though it would be much easier if we could agree on being friends, seeing as our best friends are probably going to insist on doing group activities.” 

James was finally smiling. “I think I can swing friends.” They looked at each other and for the first time that night, it wasn’t awkward. “Are you going to be okay with Cujo there?” 

“Yeah. We’re going to have a really nice talk about why shower curtains are important.” 

James chuckled and got off the couch and made his way over to the door. He paused before opening it. “I’m glad I met you.” 

“Back at ya champ.” 

James took one last look at her, smiled, and then he was gone. Darcy was left with a puppy that had gotten it’s second wind. 

“What am I going to do with you? And more importantly, what am I going to call you?” 

The puppy just tried to lick her face again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends, guess who finally got free time? 
> 
> As always this is unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine.

VI.

Three days later Clint was set to leave the hospital and it was decided that he would be staying with Darcy. Darcy was not sure when it was decided but here she was taking care of an untrained puppy and Clint. (Turns out the puppy was way less stressful than Clint). After about a week there was a kind of system in place. Darcy would get up, check on Clint, start the coffee, take the puppy on a walk, come back and make breakfast for herself and Clint. 

Natasha was a saint and was able to come on weekends and some week nights to make sure Clint and Darcy didn’t kill each other, but it was James that turned out to be her saving grace. He was able to come by several times a week and take Clint to his physical therapy and keep Clint occupied so that he didn’t try and overexert himself and break himself even more (it was a pattern that Darcy was keen on not living through again). 

So it was no surprise when she came home to find James and Clint sitting on the couch throwing darts and in James’s case drinking a beer. 

“Nat called and said she’s gonna come by in an hour or so.” James said in greeting right before he made his move with the dart. He brushed the bullseye, but was just shy of hitting it. (Darcy suspected that he was missing on purpose to make Clint feel better. There was no way a person could come that close each time without hitting it and not have amazing aim.) “She said she would bring Chinese for dinner. I also got you more beer.” 

“James, has anyone ever told you that you are indeed the cat’s pajamas? Because you are.” Darcy gave him a cheshire cat grin as she made her way to the fridge to grab one of the aforementioned beers. 

James rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched upwards into a smile that gave away his amusement. 

Clint cleared his throat, and Darcy focused her attention onto him. “Yes your Royal Highness?” 

“You’re hilarious. I need you to do me a favor.” 

Darcy snorted at that. “Other than having you live with me?”

“Yes.” 

“What do you need?” 

“Let me have the apartment tomorrow night and help me set up a romantic atmosphere so I can give Nat a romantic date rather than us just all sitting around watching a bad movie and eating take out.” 

Darcy was just staring at her best friend. In all the years she had known him, he had never gone to any trouble figuring out what to do for a date night. But now, he was watching Darcy nervously, and she could not tell him no. “Would you like me to make anything special for your dinner?” 

Clint surveyed her with trepidation. “Are you fucking with me?”

“No. I actually like Natasha, so let me ask again: is there anything you’d like me to cook?” 

Clint looked like he was going to cry with relief. 

****  
The next day went smoothly as Darcy spent time between the kitchen and cleaning her apartment. It wasn’t until around seven that night did she realize she had inadvertently put herself in a predicament. 

She had no where to go that night. Fuck. 

She glanced over at the dog, now dubbed Lucky, who was looking her in the eye and pooping on the kitchen floor. Darcy sighed, at least he had the decency to do it on the tile and not the carpet, that had to count for something. “You and i are going to have a long talk about where to poop later, and spoiler alert the kitchen is not one of those places.”  
The dog just tilted it’s head and and wagged it’s tongue. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.” 

An hour later Darcy was reminding Clint that the food was in the oven, that dessert was in the fridge and that yes she would be fine not coming back until the morning. 

“Lucky and I will go find somewhere nice to be won’t we?” 

**  
Darcy and Lucky wandered aimlessly for about an hour when she passed her usual Chinese place. Darcy looked down at Lucky. “ Okay, I think I have a plan, but are you gonna be cool with it?” 

The dog just wagged its tail.  
***

Half an hour later Darcy was knocking on James’s door. “Hi.” She smiled when he finally opened it. “So, we were in the neighborhood and I happened to pick up all your favorites from that Chinese place we order from, and maybe I can crash here while Clint and Nat do their ‘Date Night Extravaganza’?” 

James was just staring at Darcy as she said her whole spiel in one breath. “Hi. Do you want to come in?” He stepped aside and allowed for her to enter. She was looking sheepishly around his apartment when he turned back to her. Which is when she took in his appearance. 

“Oh god. You’re going out. You had plans. I should have texted or something. I’ll just leave. I am so sorry.” Darcy was making her way out again when James’s put his hand on her shoulder. 

“Really, it’s okay. I wasn’t really in the mood to go out tonight. You have now provided me with an excuse to stay in, binge on the best egg rolls, and watch crappy reality tv.” Darcy was watching him skeptically. “Seriously Darce, it’s been one of those days, and I could really use a night in with good company.” 

“Really?”

“Really. Come on, sit down, let Lucky be bad and jump on the furniture, and I’ll get napkins and beers.”  
***  
Seven egg rolls, six beers, and four episodes of some trashy show later, Lucky was sleeping on James’s arm chair, while Darcy was snuggling into James’s side, his arm draped around her. Darcy was starting to drift. She was feeling relaxed and alcohol she had was making her feel loose. 

“This is nice. You’re nice.” 

James’s let out an amused huff, but said nothing. 

“No really, I like this. I like spending time with you.” She turned her head so she could look up at him only to find him staring back at her, their faces much closer than she had expected. “Hi.” 

“Hi.” His eyes flickered down to her lips then back to her eyes. Darcy unconsciously licked her lips. James was leaning in. Darcy felt her heart beating faster. He was an inch away, then his lips gently brushed hers. Darcy’s eyes fluttered closed only to open a moment later when there was very loud knock at the door. The two broke apart at the sound and James’s furrowed his brow. 

“Expecting company?” 

“No.” 

“BUCKY BARNES YOU OPEN’ THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW.” The voice, presumably belonging to the knocker, was a rich baritone, with slightly slurred words. 

Darcy raised her eyebrows at him, and James’s grumbled as he untangled himself from her and went to answer the door. 

“The fuck dude? I told you I couldn’t come out tonight.” James’s voice had a bite to it when he opened the door and greeted his friend. 

Darcy peeked over to see James talking to a large, broad shouldered blond man with a face that could have been carved from marble. 

“Yeah well, sorry. I figured you were lying about having company. I’ve been worried, you’ve been all mopey about that girl for the past few weeks and I thought going out would cheer you up.” The man finally looked over the room and caught sight of Darcy. He snapped his gaze back to James. 

“Steve meet Darcy, Darcy meet Steve.” 

Darcy waved. She felt her cheeks heating up under the blond's gaze. 

Steve’s eyes looked like he was plotting world domination. His smile, though sincere, had an air of mischief, he turned back to James, “Well, it seems as though you two were having a nice night in, so I will leave you to it. So happy to have met you. Buck.” He was giving his friend a shit eating grin as he was being ushered out the door. 

“Have a good night Stevie.” That earned an indignant squawk as the door shut. James was standing in the entryway looking like he wanted to be anywhere but in that room, while Darcy was trying to process what had just happened. 

She couldn’t come up with anything more eloquent than “So, Bucky?” 

“Childhood nickname. There were a lot of James’s in my year, for some reason, and Stevie thought that my middle name was a good place to start for a new name, but he claimed Buchanan was stupid so he dubbed me Bucky.” 

“Wait, so your name is James Buchanan? Like the president?” 

“My parents had a strange and horrible sense of humor.” Darcy started laughing, much harder than the situation called. James saw her wipe a tear away. “It’s not that funny.” 

“No, it’s just my parents are the same breed of terrible. My middle name’s Elizabeth.” 

“As in…?”

“Yup.”

James let out a chuckle as he made his way back over to her. “Well, aren’t we quite the pair?” 

“Two peas in a pod.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this would have been up sooner, but I had some friends come and visit me a little after the new year and vacation time is meant for relaxing with strippers and supremely fancy cocktails. (Because my life is actually ridiculous sometimes.) anyway as always I really hope you enjoyed this installment of this. As always all comments and kudos and such are super appreciated and I hope you all have a lovely day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy woke the next morning feeling like her body was going to sink through the mattress. Her head ached and her stomach was on the verge of revolution. She groaned as she shifted, and then became very aware of the arm slung around her midsection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trash, but look! an update! Writers block is never a friendly thing. I actually I'm on the fence about this chapter. I've written like seven different versions but nothing felt right. So you're getting the version I hated least  
> There is some smut(ish) in this chapter. I am not good at writing smut. I am very aware of this.  
> as always this work is unbeta'd and all characters belong to marvel. subpar plot development is all me.

Darcy woke the next morning feeling like her body was going to sink through the mattress. Her head ached and her stomach was on the verge of revolution. She groaned as she shifted, and then became very aware of the arm slung around her midsection. Slowly she turned her head and saw that the arm was attached to James. Oh, shit. Carefully, oh so carefully, Darcy lifted the sheet and suppressed her sigh of relief when she saw her borrowed pj pants were still intact. She let the sheet drop back, and she settled down again, left only with her hangover and a boatload of feeling things she wasn’t ready to deal with. 

Here’s the thing, Darcy has always stayed firm in her belief that the whole soulmate thing was a fucking sham and that some little words didn’t mean that a person was going to be her everything or whatever cheesy pop songs said about true love. And then there was James, stupid, beautiful, wonderful, James. Their eyes had met across a bar and they’d decided to take a chance on one another, at least for one night. And it had been a good night. Then there was the whole second night they were together. While they didn’t have sex, it had still been incredibly intimate. 

“I can hear you thinking from here.” James’s voice was gravelly and very good at interrupting Darcy’s current freak out. “Want to talk about it?” 

It would be so easy. She could just turn over and press her lips lightly to his. Her hand would go to the back of his head and she would let her fingers rake through his hair. He’d probably nibble on her bottom lip, she’d sigh into his mouth and he’d take take the opportunity to let his tongue explore her mouth. They’d kiss like that for a while, languid, deep, sensual, until James would shift so Darcy was underneath him.

He would nudge gently at her legs. When she parted them, he would settle himself between them. He would grind down on her slightly causing them both to moan, and James would let his hand slip down between their bodies. It would rest on her stomach, just above the top of her borrowed pajama bottoms. He would break away from the kiss to look in her eyes to seek permission. Darcy would nod, and James would surge back into the kiss while he let his hand seek out her core. He would tease her with the pads of his fingers until Darcy became a whimpering mess.Only then would he press his finger inside her causing her back to arch while her climax crashed down on her. 

When she came back to herself, Darcy would grasp frantically at James’s pants trying to pull them down. James would huff out a laugh against her collar and then kindly help her out by removing his pants. He would press his cock against her entrance but wouldn’t go any further. Darcy would open her eyes (when did they close) and then she would just look into his eyes. She would whisper out a broken please and then push her lips to his in a frantic kiss. He would push in her and they would gasp in each other’s mouths. 

There would be nothing rushed about this. Just slow deep thrusts, a roll of the hips. There would be no loud moans, just broken gasps, and soft uhns. Their lips would be touching, slightly parted, occasionally kissing but mostly just breathing the same air. Eventually James would have to speed up, both of their breathing becoming erratic. James would press his forehead to hers and she would whimper his name as she came. He would follow after a few more thrusts. The he would still, holding her close letting his own orgasm pulse into her. 

They would lay like that for a while until Darcy would give his sides a pinch so that he would stop squishing her. James would get the hint and roll over, but then pull Darcy over to him so that her head would be resting on his chest. She would feel him kiss the top of her head. Darcy would crane her neck, only to see James looking at her like she hung the moon. 

It would be so easy. 

“Darcy?” 

She took a deep breath and rolled over to face him. Her eyes went from his to his lips. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster. James was watching her, his pink lips parting as he licked his lips. Darcy was moving closer-

A bark startled both of them apart. 

“Wanna come walk Lucky with me?” Darcy was already getting out of bed. She turned to face James when he didn’t answer. He was watching her with an unreadable expression. Darcy cocked an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, let me get some pants.” 

“Maybe a shirt.”

“What, you don’t like my torso?” 

“On the contrary, I quite enjoy your physique. I just don’t think you’d want your nipples to get so cold they’d fall off. Winter is coming.” Darcy kept her face completely straight as she finished. 

James let out a bark of laughter. “Come Snow, I’ll buy you guys breakfast. 

*****  
Darcy didn’t make it back to her apartment until well after 5. She was greeted by Natasha straddling Clint on her couch. Darcy’s eye’s shut automatically. “Please tell me his naked ass isn’t on my upholstery.”

“No…” Clint’s voice was guilty. 

“You guys get to pay to have it cleaned.” With that Darcy turned and left her apartment with Lucky in tow. 

She got out her phone and called James. “Do you have any way to erase memories?” 

“Why?” 

Darcy was struck by how worried he sounded. “I just saw Clint and Nat doing the do.” 

James was silent for a moment before erupting into a fit of laughter. 

“You’re an asshole. Can I come back over? I really am not feeling like going into my apartment ever again.”

“Yeah, I’m making pasta with red sauce. That ok?” 

“Did I ever tell you that I think you’re the bees knees?”  
****  
James had a very full glass of wine waiting for her when she got back to his apartment. 

“I’m pretty sure you just took Clint’s spot for my favorite human.” 

James smirked at that. “Was it really that bad?” 

Darcy shuddered. “James, I’ve known Clint for about half of my life. He is my best friend. Hell, he was my first kiss, but there are some things that I never needed to know about him, and his ‘O’ face was one of them.” 

James was biting his bottom lip, in what looked like an attempt to hold back a laughing fit. Darcy narrowed her eyes at his expression. “There are things you can’t unsee, and they will haunt forever. It’s seared in my brain and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna need more wine.” 

James just shook his head and directed her to the kitchenette. “Come on, let’s eat the pain away.” 

Darcy smiled then mouthed Bee’s Knees to him. James just laughed and brought over plates of delicious homemade garlic bread and noodles covered in a thick meaty red sauce. “But seriously, thank you.” 

James just kept smiling at her. “Seriously, you’re welcome.”  
After dinner Darcy was sprawled across his couch nursing her third glass of wine. She knew that they would have to have a serious talk about what the hell they were doing, but for now, this was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to say that if you ever happen to walk in on a person you know doing the do; it will haunt you forever. As always thank you very much for reading, and being patient with my horrible lack of updates. Thank you so much for sticking with the story, if you are still reading it. 
> 
> Again, comments/kudos are always appreciated but never necessary.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is gonna be a thing that gets written. I'm still new to posting stuff on here (and in general), so reviews are always helpful and welcome.


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